Between going and gone

Well, well, well. Three months ago I was looking for a day job. I found one. Actually, I found three. Korea and Japan came through on the same day. I waffled for a weekend and decided to go with the devil I knew. Japan would have been exciting, but after nearly being deported from Chile, I didn't feel up to more excitement. After I sent off all my documents to Korea, I got an offer from Dubai. Freakin' Dubai. They wanted me for a 2nd grade class and they wanted me in a week. Exactly 7 days from the arrival of the email. But - but Dubai! I said no which is why I'm sitting here in the cold on Friday night instead of sitting there in the heat contemplating my Saturday.

For the past couple of weeks I've felt like I was in an airport transfer lounge. Stuck between going and gone. I've got 2 suitcases half packed on the floor. My office half packed to go back to the storage unit where the rest of my stuff is living until I settle back in the US. And I'm only operating with half a brain. Yesterday my husband and I were talking about things I needed to do before I left. There were three. Dye my hair (which required getting dye, 2 boxes, on for now and one for 6 months from now.) Make a final decision in a DVD player. Find out if a phone purchased here will even work in Korea. (My mom is pretty sure there's going to be war and I'm going to be stuck in the middle of it. I keep telling her that A) any invasion by North Korea will stop at the first grocery store, those people are starving, political ideals are not going to overrule that and B) Youngsan military base is between me and the DMZ, if the first grocery store doesn't stop them, I'm pretty sure the US Army will. And look how good I am at staying on topic.) Husband and I went back and forth for about a half hour on our to do list. The moment I sat down to write it down, I could only remember 2 of 3. Even worse, I wake up every morning about an hour before the alarm goes off certain that there are about 800 things I need to take care of that I'm forgetting.

Frankly, right now, I can't remember the point of my post. I'll probably remember in the wee hours of the morning, along with those 800 other things I should have done yesterday. Sigh. Is it time to go yet?

Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

No, I'm not channeling Joyce Carol Oates. I'm actually looking for a job. I teach English overseas so I'm perusing Dave's ESL Cafe International Job List trying to decide where I want to be next. Where have I been?

Seoul, South Korea - 2 years, 1 in the north east and 1 in the south west. The first year we lived at the foot of a mountain that had foxholes on it, the second we were down the street from the best Mexican restaurant in Asia.

The Philippines - 3 separate 1 week vacations. Dirty, slightly dangerous, but quite beautiful if you looked in the right places. The people were wonderful. I bet I could go there right now, a year and a half after my last visit, and there would be people who knew my name and would greet me warmly.

Thailand - a week and a half last Christmas. Agog. Still. Especially with the foot of snow in my backyard. I'm applying for a job there. Living in Thailand would not be a hardship even though they pay peanuts.

Concepcion, Chile - 3 months. The food was amazing, the people were wonderful, the cold was crippling. They aren't big on heating buildings and, contrary to the palm trees, it does get down to freezing.

I've traveled pretty extensively within the US too, but that just gets unwieldy to list.

So where am I going?

Well, I've applied for jobs in Dubai, Chiba Prefecture Japan, and Thailand. I was just looking wistfully at a job in China even though I promised my mother I wouldn't work there after some damn fool sent her an article about and ESL teacher who died under mysterious circumstances while I was in Korea. So far I haven't been qualified for the posts in Morocco and Turkey that have popped up. I applied for a school in Costa Rica, but never heard back. I'm not even sure my email went through. I'd love to teach in Belize, but they, inconveniently, already speak English.

So where do you want to go? Are you the type that always has a bag packed or are you more of a home body? Have any suggestions for places I should look at more closely? Do you think you know a place that more closely resembles heaven than Phuket Thailand? 'Cause I'll go check.